Sunday, December 12, 2004

Some W.D. Va. lawyers mad about Chief Judge Jones' decision to cut some fees in the Church case

The Roanoke paper reports here ("Lawyers decry pay-cut ruling in capital case," 12/12/04) that some local lawyers are upset with the analysis by Chief Judge Jones of W.D. Va. in cutting the fee application for one bunch of lawyers in the successful defense of the Pocahontas murder cases.

The sources quoted in this article say many interesting things. One is that the federal government stirs these costs by seeking the death penalty in the wrong cases. Another is that there is something ex post facto about cutting fees after the case is over without some kind of advance notice about the limitations. A third is that why should the defense lawyer, and no one else, be the one to take a pay cut when a case costs too much.